I just think it's so easy to forget and touch your face isn't it?Also dd tends to have a thing for putting her hand on people's faces and in their mouths. She likes to poke people in the eye! If my mum is sat down she may well toddle over and attack without warning!

I get them all the time and no one in my house have ever caught them. I'm a childminder too and never had a little one get it either. Just make sure she doesn't kiss your little one and you'll be fine. To be fair though, on the off chance they do catch one, it wouldn't be the end of the world.

YANBU. I agree that it's very difficult indeed to guarantee that nobody will touch her face or that she will remember not to touch her mouth at all. Far simpler to just postpone the visit until it's completely healed.

I don't think you can draw a comparison with a mother having a coldsore being in contact with her own small children. Obviously the practicalities and implications of a mother leaving a 15 month old for an extended period of time are entirely different than a visiting grandparent who could just simply come another day.

YABU. If your mum gets them, chances are you have the virus too, like 90% of the population. She's even said it's healed...I would have just reminded her not to kiss them. Your DS probably shares water bottles with other kids all the time at school and will have the virus anyway. The story in the daily mail about the newborn dying is very, very rare and they were a lot younger than your kids. My dr said (when I had 5 in one go that popped up right after feeding DS off my spoon) most kids are exposed as a young child and have no initial infection sores or illness, they just harbour it and might never break out in cold sores in their life. I got my first at 19, even though my mum gets cold sores allllll the time and would take no special precautions in me not catching it as a kid as this was before all the germ phobia.

I agree. She doesn't need to pop in today does she? I don't understand why she's so offended. Not very supportive of her and a bit selfish. If it were me id say "I don't want to give my grandkids a cold sore - I'll see you when it's gone".

School is different - education is so important and you can't avoid school all the time for illnesses etc. But if it can be avoided then it should be.

I have a 4 week old baby atm and a cold sore, dr just said not to kiss him or touch it then touch him. So im sure your 1 and 7 year olds will be fine. Get her to wear a compeed patch but honestly your 7 yo probably has the virus already

I currently have a huge one under my nose. Unfortunately DS is still EBF and refuses bottles, so I can't pack him off anywhere. I'm just being as careful as I can with hygiene and dodging his usual face grabbing.